Carrying debt can have costs far beyond the interest paid, something that few people fully appreciate. Debt repayment has substantial opportunity costs, which means that there are decisions that are unavailable because you are repaying debts. A substantial component of these opportunity costs relates to tax benefits. Lost tax benefits The single most important opportunity … Continue reading Tallying the ultimate costs of debt
Category: financial planning
Thoughts on the Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) movement
The Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) movement is much in the news these days. You can hardly go to a financial website without seeing a headline about someone who "retired" in their 30's. There is, not surprisingly, plenty of debate about what distinguishes retirement from being a professional blogger who writes about FIRE. Much … Continue reading Thoughts on the Financial Independence / Retire Early (FIRE) movement
Public policy and student debt
The United States has a growing problem with student debt. The total of all outstanding student loans is now above $1.5 Trillion. Politicians and others have proposed solutions to managing educational debt, but there is too little discussion of the practicalities. There is no question that we have a major problem and that many young … Continue reading Public policy and student debt
Geoff Considine on Finance and Economics 